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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28734081">JatP One-Shots</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillieThomas2005/pseuds/WillieThomas2005'>WillieThomas2005</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Julie and The Phantoms (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>:), Bisexual Julie Molina, Bisexual Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), F/F, F/M, Good Sibling Carlos Molina, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, How Do I Tag, Lesbian Carrie Wilson, Lesbian Flynn (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson is a simp, M/M, Pansexual Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Willie Loves Alex Mercer (Julie and The Phantoms), Willie has ADHD, Willie-centric (Julie and The Phantoms), and Carlos, backstories, except Nick, he also just seems like the kinda guy who was raised by a single mother because his dad was an idiot, just sayin, nobody is straight, sry, sry again, there might not be a lot of stuff that isn't willie, we STAN willex, yeah - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 12:47:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,128</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28734081</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WillieThomas2005/pseuds/WillieThomas2005</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a bunch of totally random oneshots. Lots of Willex, but there will be more. A lot of them will probably correspond with my JatP(Willex) fanfic, Boards &amp; Beats. So enjoy!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex Mercer &amp; Carrie Wilson, Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Aunt Victoria &amp; Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn &amp; Julie Molina &amp; Willie, Flynn/Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Kayla/Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>35</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Before Death: Willie Thomas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>William Michael Thomas</em>
</p><p>
  <em>January 21, 1988-April 9, 2005</em>
</p><p>
  <em>~~~</em>
</p><p>Willie Thomas wasn't the luckiest kid in the world. His bad luck started before he was even born. His mother, Rene Jameson, was only 19 when little Willie came into the world. he was perfectly fine with this, but her family wasn't. So, William grew up without the fun grandparents and aunts and uncles. He was also an only child, but he made friends quite easily.</p><p>When Willie was three years old, his father, Phil Thomas, proposed to Rene, and they got married. They were surrounded by mostly friends, of course(any family being Phil's). Then, they were happy.</p><p>At age 5, Willie decided that he didn't want any more "annoying" haircuts unless it was absolutely necessary. Phil didn't approve, but Rene loved it. So, he let this slide. For now.</p><p>However, for the next few years, Phil grew more and more absent in his family's lives. He would come home for around two days a week then disappear again. He didn't help raise his child or support his wife. This resulted in Rene having to work multiple jobs to keep herself(and her son) afloat, so someone had to watch Willie.</p><p>That's where the Cervantes family came in. Parents, Jose and Angelica, and their three kids; Rose(17), Victoria(15) and Juan(11). They were Willie's second family. Every day after school, he'd ride the bus to their house and wait with Snra. Cervantes(and sometimes Rose, once she graduated) for the other kids to get home. This began when Willie was a mere 7 years old, and continued for pretty much the rest of his(short) life.</p><p>Then, it started.</p><p>At first, it was just little arguments when dad would come home, but after a while, it became full on yelling in the kitchen that could be heard all over the house, and now 12-year-old Willie could do nothing but watch from the stairs.</p><p>"Well, if you hate me so much, leave!"</p><p>"I can't just take Willie from away from the only home he's ever known!" She was upset. Willie hated it when his mother was upset.</p><p>"Then I'll leave!"</p><p>"He's YOUR son too, Phillip!"</p><p>"Well, I don't want him! You're raising him like a girl, with that stupid hair, the jewellery, the... doodling?! He's gonna end up some disgusting little f-"</p><p>"Don't finish that sentence! If our- MY son is gay, that is nobody's 'fault.' It's just the way he is, and that would be okay!" Willie had heard that word before, but he wasn't quite sure what it meant.</p><p>"Whatever happens, I want nothin to do with it!" Willie shrank into the shadows as his "father" stormed to the front door.</p><p>"FINE! I don't want you near him anyway!" With that, Phil slammed the door and never came back. Willie wanted to go down and comfort his mother, but he knew that would get him in trouble for eavesdropping. So, he decided to just tuck himself into bed and try to fall asleep.</p><p>Willie spent every second he could with his mom, but he also began spending more time at the Cervantes house. Rose was amazing. She taught him how to play piano and attempted guitar, but then he found a ukulele in the garage/studio and quickly learned that. Rose was quite proud of him. According to her, his was one of the best male voices she had ever heard. He didn't go anywhere with music though. He would put on impromptu concerts for his mother and the Cervantes family, but that was about it.</p><p>Vic was the best. She was the closest thing to a sister Willie ever had. She taught him how to bake/cook certain things. He was also her assigned taste-tester whenever she decided to experiment with her recipes. This was partly because Willie was brutally honest and it was hilarious. If something tasted bad, he would not hesitate to spit out or into the trash.</p><p>Then Juan, the youngest. He was Willie's best friend(despite the 4 year age gap). They would talk about the most random things and play the stupidest games. In fact, Juan was the person who taught Willie how to skate. He was also responsible for the time Willie <em><strong><span class="u">broke</span></strong></em> his arm in 6th grade. You know... boys. The Cervantes' were the family Willie never had.</p><p>When Willie was 13 years old, he had his "gay awakening." There was a pep rally at his school. He didn't really want to go, but it was mandatory. He sat on the bleachers with his sketchpad with the other 8th graders stomping and screaming around him, occasionally glancing up to see what was going on. Then, the basketball team entered. Willie chose this moment to look up, and his gaze landed on #23, Dylan Felks. The first thought that ran through his head was, "Oh crap, he's cute." And it hit him. </p><p>
  <em>I'm gay.</em>
</p><p>Willie only shared this information with one person in his life. That person was his mother. He wasn't sure what he expected, but she just hugged him and said "I'm glad you told me." Willie loved his mom, and she loved him just as much. He was her "zoomer." She was his mom.</p><p>So, he was devastated when the doctors told him that this unidentified disease had taken her, he was devastated. She had been sick for the past year. They said there was hope. It wasn't fair. There was one week left before his 16th birthday, and the one person he <em>really</em> cared about wasn't going to be there. Willie refused to celebrate his birthday that year. January 21, 2004 came and went. He didn't feel older. He just felt pain. The Cervantes' offered to take him in, since nobody could locate his father, but he refused. He couldn't put that responsibility on them. Rose was getting married in October. He'd be there, and he would visit them occasionally, but he would not move in. They insisted on at least paying for his education, which was really pointless. He started skipping school, getting more detentions and suspensions than his teachers thought possible. They were worried, but they knew not to pry. Then, junior year came around. It was the middle of November when Willie had an... experience with a certain homophobic(, sexist, and racist) algebra teacher.</p><p>Willie was in the art program at Los Feliz and there was a certain boy in his art class. His name was Joshua Davis. One day, he was sitting in math class, doodling in his notebook while Mr. Hoffman droned on about radicals or something. His mind wandered to Joshua, and he started doing that cheesy thing where you write your name with your crushes last name(or vice versa). So, "Willie Davis" and "Joshua Thomas" filled the margins of his notebook, along with many other(gay) things. He completely tuned out the lesson, so he jumped when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He swung an arm over his doodles and looked up to see Mr. Hoffman looming over him.</p><p>
  <strong>**(censored)Homophobia Incoming**</strong>
</p><p>"What are you writing, Mr. Thomas?"</p><p>"Well... I'm not really writing. They're doodles."</p><p>"Well, are you 'doodling' your notes?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Why not?"</p><p>"Because I couldn't care less about math. It's boring and having you teach it doesn't help." The classroom erupted in whispers, gasps and giggles. <em>Did he just say that? Oh my god. He's right, though.</em> </p><p>"Alright then. What have you been putting in your notebook?" Willie could see that he was straining to keep calm. Some of his classmates stopped gossipping to wait for his answer.</p><p>"Nothing." He glanced down to make sure his "doodles" couldn't be seen, but as he did, Mr. Hoffman swooped down like a hawk and grabbed the notebook. He read for moment before dropping it back on Willie's desk.</p><p>"Get out of my classroom." His tone was ice cold. Everyone had stopped whispering. This was the most interesting thing they had seen all day.</p><p>"Why?"</p><p>"I refuse to teach an ungrateful f***** like you. Get. Out." The class stayed silent as Willie stood grabbed his things and marched out of the room. The second the door closed, Willie could hear them erupt into talking and random comments. He practically ran to his locker. He shoved his books away, grabbed his backpack and his skateboard, and left. He skipped his last three classes of the day and went to the park. He walked onto the grass threw his stuff to the ground and laid there, staring at the sky. The birds flew over his head. They had no worries. They were free. Willie wasn't. He had so much weighing him down. He hated it.</p><p>Luckily, this all happened on a Friday. Willie spent the weekends at the Cervantes house, but he never told any of them about the confrontation. He knew they would try to do something about it, and he did <em>not</em> want to be <em>that guy</em>. Rose was pregnant, so that was something. Her husband, Ray, was a nice guy. Willie could tell that he knew something was off about the boy, but he thankfully didn't say anything.</p><p>When Willie went back to school on Monday, everybody knew about the incident. Anyone who had been anything like a friend to Willie ignored him. He pretended not to care about any of it, but when he got to art class everyone was huddled in a corner around Joshua Davis. Willie walked in and sat at one of the opposite tables by himself. He could hear them talking. They were talking about him. To Joshua. Aka, the cause of this whole mess. They were telling him wat Willie wrote in his notebook. To say Willie was pissed is an understatement. He knew exactly how people knew what made Mr. Hoffman flip out. Amanda Buckley. This girl was the Heather Chandler of LFHS. She probably got her boyfriend to break into Willie's locker and bring her his math notebook so she could make copies of the doodles or something. She then proceeded to share with the entire school. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. The result was that nobody liked and now he was the prime target for bullies. He skipped at least one class every day(math, of course), but he was almost always at art. He didn't care that Joshua would look at him like he had five arms, he needed art. His mother was an artist and he wanted to keep that with him.</p><p>It was a cold, April morning as Willie skated down Hollywood Blvd., a route he now knew by heart. Today, he decided to race one of the semis on the road. So, there he was, skating alongside an unknowing trucker when they turned before he thought they would. It hurt like hell, but he didn't care anymore. What did he have to live for? He was failing all of his classes except art. His mom was dead and his dad had disappeared off the face of the earth. The Cervantes family had lives of their own. They wouldn't miss him, right? As he was rushed to the hospital he didn't even try to fight it. He was dying, and he let it happen. At 7:36 am, April 9, 2005, William Michael Thomas died.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Now, he's laying on the couch in the same garage he practically grew up in. The same driveway he learned to skate on right outside the door. His favorite babysitter's daughter playing a random song on the piano across the room while her ghost boyfriend scribbles words into his journal. Willie's head in his beautiful boyfriend's lap as Alex runs his fingers through his hair. Thinking about his past and wondering how many of those people would remember him if they saw his face again. Mr. and Mrs. Cervantes, Juan, Mr. Hoffman, his father, etc. Then, he thinks about how it doesn't matter, because he's happy with the way things are right now. New family, great friends and an incredible boyfriend that he would go to the ends of the earth for. Who cares what happened before death? <em>It's in the past.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So?<br/>I realized that I accidentally made his backstory very Alexander-Hamilton-like. That was NOT intentional. I love Willie, but this was just too much fun. Should I make one for each of the boys? That could be fun. I could make one for Rose, too! I dunno. You decide. Also, is it bad that I based the homophobic teacher off of my math teacher. I even used his name! BUT my teacher is so nice. I seriously doubt he's homophobic or sexist or racist or anything like that, but every time I imagined this teacher, I pictured my teacher, so I used his name. Now I feel bad:( Anyway... YEAH!</p><p>Next Chapter: (i lied again. sry) more backstory for willie-aka. multiple little one shots giving us more on willie and his mom:)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Home</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>random little spats mainly about willie's childhood and his relationship with his mom.<br/>part 1/2</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just read it already!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>      Willie stands on the sidewalk, fiddling with a pencil he had in his pocket. He's waiting for Alex, who should be here any minute now. He's not nervous about what Alex will know after this, he's scared of the things he himself will find. The memories(and possibly tears) that they'll bring. He's lost in his head when someone puts a hand on his shoulder. He jumps.</p><p>      "Jeez. Hotdog, you scared me." Alex slips his hand into Willie's.</p><p>      "Sorry," he says leaning into his boyfriend.</p><p>      "It's fine." Both boys smile at each other.</p><p>      "So... what are we doing today," Alex asks, expecting some crazy adventure or cheesy date idea, but Willie doesn't smirk or grin evilly. He just stares ahead of him at practically abandoned street. Alex doesn't know it, but he' staring at one lonely driveway in particular.</p><p>      " There's something I need to do... that I've needed to do... for a while now. I just haven't gotten around to it in my nearly 11 years of afterlife. I think I just need someone else there with me and I didn't have anyone to bring until now," Willie answers, looking back at Alex at the last sentence. His gaze soon goes back to the road, though.</p><p>      "And what's that," Alex questions, squeezing Willie's hand.</p><p>      "Just come with me." Instead of poofing to their destination, Willie takes them down the sidewalk and across the street by foot. When they stop, they're standing at the beginning of the driveway to a small, cottage-like house. There are no cars visible, and the lawn clearly hasn't been tended to in many years. Weeds and wildflowers litter the grass. No lights are on, either. After a moment of examining the building, Willie pulls Alex all the way to the front door with a solemn, determined expression on his face. Here, he stops.</p><p>      "Willie," Alex starts cautiously, sensing his partners nerves, "Where are we?" It takes a moment for him to answer.</p><p>      "This is- was my... home." "Home" is an understatement. This had been his safe haven. A place he could hide from everything and everyone... except Rene. On the rare occasion that she had a day off work, they would never really go anywhere(except on <em>very</em> special days). They would sit at home and make art, or Willie would show her something new he learned on his skateboard or ukelele. He would tell his mom all about Vic's food(good or bad). He didn't talk much about school, but she would still tease him if he ever accidentally mentioned "some boy" from his class. She was the one person he could tell everything to. Rene also had very short hair, but she learned how to braid and stuff purely for her little boy. Willie hasn't been to this house in nearly 17 years. He had made sure to avoid places like this. It's why he never went by the Cervantes(now Molina) household to see how they were doing. He never went to check up on any of his (ex-)friends from school. None of that. Willie thought he had been doing himself a favor, and maybe he had, because now-since he put it off so long- he gets to go through his old house with the most important person in his afterlife; Alex Mercer.</p><p>      Clearly, the realtors in charge hadn't gotten any offers on this two bedroom house in the middle of nowhere and had completely given up. There isn't even a for sale sign in the front yard. It's not like anyone would be able to see it with all of the overgrowth, anyway. Willie is glad they couldn't sell it. That probably means everything is still in there somewhere. With this thought, he puts his hand on the doorknob, and opens this giant time machine back to the 90's/early 2000's. All of the furniture is still there(although under quickly discarded white sheets). Willie lets go of Alex's hand and walks down a small hallway to a large room. Alex follows and is blown away by the color. Every wall is splattered with bright paint. Blank and used canvases are strewn everywhere. Paint brushes sit in jars or on the floor. Alex thinks it's a little strange, but then it gets stranger when Willie stops him at the doorway and tells him to take of his shoes. He does, and so does Willie. Then, Alex and Willie slowly enter, filled with confusion and nostalgia(respectively).</p><p>      "It's..." Alex is at a loss for words. Colorful? Beautiful? Awesome? None of these words fit. "You. This is so you." He looks back a Willie who is tracing the lines of a random doodle on the wall.</p><p>      "Not just me. She's in here, too. This was her home-made studio. She let me come in here whenever I wanted to." He walks over to one of the largest canvases and presses his palms to the literal rainbow of colors. "This is one of my favorites. When I came out to her, she gave me the whole spiel about how it was fine and it wasn't going to change anything. When I didn't believe her, she took my hand and brought me in here. Then, she got out the brightest rainbow colors she had and splashed them onto this canvas. When that dried, she did this." He steps back to reveal a silhouette drawing of a person. Despite it being all black with no defining features, Alex knew it was Willie. A shorter version, but still Willie. The drummer steps forward to wrap his arms around Willie's waist.</p><p>      "It's incredible. Just like you." Willie chuckles and leans back into Alex's embrace. "But... I kinda wanna see your bedroom." The skater smirks.</p><p>      "Geez, slow down, Lexi," he says. By the time Alex realizes what he means, Willie has slipped out of the hug and gone back into the hallway, still giggling. He pauses when he gets to the kitchen and a slightly flustered Alex walks in soon enough. "You know what's sad? The fact that the main memory I have of this kitchen is watching my 'father' storm out of it for the last time after their big argument... about me." The scene replayed in his mind as he turn around to find a now concerned Alex in the doorframe. He reaches out a hand that Willie takes and pulls up the short flight of stairs to the bedrooms. Another narrow hallway, a door on either side. Alex immediately knows which one is Willie's. <em>Danger Zone! Keep Out!</em> Yup. One of those. The door was also covered in little drawings. A pride flag. A paint brush. A skateboard. A ukulele. It's mostly random shapes, though. It's very Willie. Willie's hand rests on the door handle before pushing it open.</p><p>      "Woah." It's the only things Alex can say. The walls of the room are a deep blue, and a forest scene is painted around them. Trees, birds, flowers, a squirrel or two. The bed is made of mainly wood, and the bedspread is slightly lighter than the walls, and the pillow cases remind Alex of something. They're sky blue with little skateboards all over it. Willie has a pair of socks that matches them exactly. An old record player sits on the table beside a comfy looking chair. There is a box underneath it that Alex assumes holds vinyls. He walks over to confirm and... yep. The box is full of music. He reaches in and pulls out the first one he touches. When he reads what is says he looks back at Willie with an amused look on his face.</p><p>      "Elvis? Really?" Willie comes over to see what he's looking at. He smiles when he reads the cover.</p><p>      "Yeah. So?" He takes it from Alex and pulls the record out of the sleeve and sits it in the player. It starts spinning and the classic sound of The King fills the small room.</p><p>      <em>The warden threw a party in the county jail</em></p><p>
  <em>      The prison band was there and they began to wail</em>
</p><p>
  <em>      The band was jumpin' and the joint began to swing</em>
</p><p>
  <em>      You should of heard those knocked out jailbirds ring</em>
</p><p>
  <em>      Let's rock</em>
</p><p>
  <em>      Everybody let's rock</em>
</p><p>
  <em>      Everybody in the whole cell block</em>
</p><p>
  <em>      Was dancin' to the Jailhouse Rock!</em>
</p><p>When the chorus hits Willie jumps up and starts dancing across the room, his eyes scanning his giant bookshelf. Alex follows and examines the books. The books people read can tell you a lot about them. He sees many random books. The first four Harry Potter books sit on one shelf, another series he has never heard of sits on another, and then he sees a different series that takes up almost 5 whole shelves. He takes a book.</p><p>      "<em>The Babysitters' Club: Boy Crazy Stacey</em>." He looks to his left to see Willie blushing. "You read these?" He shrugs.</p><p>      "Yep. Every single one." Willie gestures to the 5 shelves of BSC books and Alex sees that it's true. All the way from <em>Kristy's Big</em> <em>Idea </em>to<em> Dawn and the Big Sleepover</em>. The only reason Alex knows these books is because his little sister, Rori, was an avid reader, and the BSC was one of her favorites. "Reading was the one 'academic' thing I decently enjoyed. It was fun to imagine these characters in all of their random situations." He takes the book from Alex's hands and puts it back in its original place. "If you ruin their order, I will kill you... again." After a little more glancing at books(Alex was not surprised when he found half of the <em>Goosebumps</em> series), they move to the closet. Elvis Presley still blares in the background.</p><p>      <em>Well you can knock me down,</em></p><p>
  <em>      Step in my face,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>      Slander my name all over the place,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>      But don't you step on my blue suede shoes.</em>
</p><p>      There are no hanging clothes, but everything is boxes on the floor. They are all labeled, so that's kind of helpful. It certainly saved Alex as he reached for a random box then saw that it was labeled "Underwear." He immediately puts it back, not wanting to become a flustered, stuttering mess for no apparent reason. Willie quickly finds a large box with the word "socks" on it.  A normal person would probably be able to fit sock in the box with something else, but not Willie. He starts pulling out pairs of incredibly stupid socks. Rainbows, paint splatters, pineapples, lemons, clouds, birds, etc. It's insane! To Alex, at least. Willie seems slightly disappointed when he finally empties the box.</p><p>      "That wasn't as many as I remember." Alex raises an eyebrow.</p><p>      "You just unpacked 107 pairs of weird socks and you have 93 more back home. I think you have enough." Willie just sighs and accepts it, still not fully satisfied.</p><p>      "Let's check the attic." They shove the socks back in the box<strong>(then a fox stole the box and burned the socks- boom, i'm dr.seuss)</strong> then go out into the hallway. Willie stands on his toes and reaches for a short string hanging from the ceiling. It rests just above his finger tips. After a minute of trying, he stops and turns to his boyfriend. Even though there is only a 3 inch difference between the two boys, Alex has to do this frequently. Willie tries for a while, then looks at him innocently, asking for help. Alex reaches up and grabs the end of the string. he pulls it down carefully, not knowing what to expect. Luckily, its a normal attic with a ladder you have to pull down, which he proceeds to do. Willie climbs up first.</p><p>      "Wait there. I'm gonna pass stuff down so we don't have to sit in the dust," he says, looking back to Alex. A minute passes, and Willie reappears with a large box. Alex goes up the ladder a little, not wanting the box to pull Willie down. He carefully takes it and sets it on the ground behind him as Willie jumps down the ladder.</p><p>      "What's in here," Alex asks.</p><p>      "I dunno. I just grabbed one of the bigger ones." Alex rolls his eyes and goes back the box. With some teamwork, they manage to open it without scissors. The first thing they find is an old, worn skateboard. "This was my first one. Mom got me a new one for Christmas in '02." The next is a photo album. Wait. Three photo albums. Alex goes to open the first one(which has a picture of little Willie and his parents at their wedding, and Willie lunges forward and slams it shut. "You don't need to look at those."</p><p>      "Why not? I wanna learn more about you," Alex pouts. He leans in and kisses the boy, which distracts him enough so Alex can snatch the book and run back the room. Willie chases him, shouting.</p><p>      "That's not fair!" He chases Alex into a corner of the bedroom where Alex then uses his other advantage that comes from being taller than his boyfriend. He stands on his toes and hold the book above his head. Willie can only reach his elbow this way. The boy quickly gives up and flops onto his old bed, crossing his arms and glaring at Alex. The photo album is mainly just wedding pictures(planning, reception, etc.), but 3-year-old Willie is in quite a few of them. There is one of him in a little grey vest and light blue bowtie. Two little girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes<strong>(snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes)</strong> stand on either side of him holding baskets of flowers petals. He must've been the ring bearer or something. There are pictures of little Willie eating cake and walking out of the venue between his parents. It's a little weird seeing someone so small and with short hair, but knowing it's still Willie. When he's done looking at the pictures, he looks back up to see the boy in question laying on his bed staring the ceiling. At this moment, Alex realizes that the ceiling is painted with the moon and stars. You can even pick out certain constellations if you know them.</p><p>      "Did your mom paint those," he asks, sitting by Willie's feet.</p><p>      "Yeah. They're pretty, aren't they?"</p><p>      "I guess, but not as pretty as you." Willie quickly sits up and smacks him with a pillow, but Alex can see his face turning red. Willie gets up and speedwalks back to the box. Alex follows, laughing to himself. They sit back down to keep searching for treasure. As Alex goes through the second two photo albums, he can see that Willie's mother must have taken over the camera because practically all of the pictures are centered around Willie. Pictures of him in the art room painting, his bedroom dancing and/or reading, outside on his skateboard, anywhere in the house playing his ukulele. There are also plenty of him with Rose and her family. Rose helping him with music, Victoria waiting for his feedback on a new dish, Juan teaching him how to do a kickflip, and Mr. and Mrs. Cervantes watching it all. There is every first day of school, every last day of school, kindergarten, elementary, and middle school "graduation." Christmases, Halloweens(those were extra adorable), birthdays, and everything in between. He's almost done looking through the last album when Willie gasps.</p><p>      "What," says Alex, slightly scared. That melts away when he sees a black and white, very fluffy stuffed animal in Willie's hands. Upon further inspection, he sees that it's a dog.</p><p>      "This- it- he... my mom got this for me for Christmas when I was 8," he says, his voice almost a whisper. "I immediately loved him. Once she got stuck in the hospital, I-I took him with me every time I went to see her. I had him when they told me she was gone. Then, somehow, I completely forgot about him when I left." He clutches the dog to his chest.</p><p>      "Does he have a name," Alex asks, scooting closer. Willie smiles.</p><p>      "Seamus. Seamus Finnigan. Like in <em>Harry</em> <em>Potter</em>." It's quiet for a moment.</p><p>      "Is he soft?" Willie holds out the dog in response.</p><p>      "See for yourself." Alex takes the dog and he knows why Willie likes it so much. It's so fluffy<strong>(I'M GONNA DIE)</strong>! It's-again- very Willie. Willie <strong>loves</strong> soft things. Especially anything sherpa. "Amazing, right?" His voice snaps Alex out of his trance. He still shocked at how soft this old stuffed animal is, so he just nods vigorously. "I used to pretend he was my emotional support dog, and that was why he came everywhere." Alex hands Seamus back, and the other boy takes it gently, like a child holding an actual dog. It's one of the things Alex loves about Willie. He can be extremely childish and adorable, or extremely serious and smart. Then, there's a whole other side that can be quite annoying, but that's another story;). It's partly because of his ADHD, but it's also just who he is. </p><p>      They keep searching through the box when Alex comes across a envelope labeled "Prideful Moments." He taps Willie, who is trying to figure out which Halloween one of the pictures was, on the shoulder. He looks up, Seamus still in his arms. Alex holds up the envelope.</p><p>      "What's this," he asks. Willie takes the envelope, read it, and smiles.</p><p>      "I'm guessing these are the pictures of me after I came out to her and decided to do something 'spontaneous.'" He opens the old package and carefully extracts the photos. He spreads them out on the floor and giggles. "Yep." Alex looks at one and sees a younger Willie holding his hair back so the camera can see his presumably newly pierced ear, the familiar silver hoop shining in the light. "It's a nice look. 1/21/02" is written on the back in unfamiliar handwriting. The next picture shows Willie standing sheepishly in the door of a dressing room wearing a crop top. "New style. 7/5/02" Another shows Willie standing in front of his mother's pride painting, beaming from ear to ear. "Don't fear flying far, zoomer. 8/14/01"</p><p>      "Zoomer," Alex asks, handing the picture to his boyfriend. Upon reading the sentence, Willie smiles sadly.</p><p>      "That's what she called me, and this was her motto for me." He stacks the photos back up and inserts them carefully back in. "Can you hold onto these? We both know I'll lose them." Alex takes the envelope and places it gently into his fanny-pack. After a few more minutes of looking at all of the randomness in the box, before packing it back up and carrying it back up the ladder. They decide that they don't need to unpack anymore and get ready to leave. They go back to Willie's old room and grab the box full of socks. As Willie heads back to the stairs, Alex grabs his arm.</p><p>      "Are you planning on coming back for that," he says, gesturing to the other bedroom door. It's the door to Rene's room.</p><p>      "I guess so. I just- I don't know if I'm... ready for that yet." Alex nods and takes the shorter boys hand. They walk in silence down the stairs and out the door. Willie looks back. "Alright. Let's go home."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i may or may not project myself onto willie just a little<br/>music- I love elvis presley's music so much. its just so catchy!(songs mentioned- Jailhouse Rock- Blue Suede Shoes)<br/>Books- i love harry potter and the BSC. I googled to see when the bsc books were published and it was 1986-91. so perfect timing<br/>dog- i have this dog. no idea where i got it, but its really soft and his name may or not be bobby:), but here it is seamus<br/>also... halloween... imagine... little Willie as a dragon.. aaaaaaahh!<br/>p.s. why did this take me soooooo long? hehe. oops;P</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. On A Jet Plane</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Despite not being an incredibly musical family, Willie grew up hearing his mother sing. Everytime they listened to music, Rene would sing along, and Willie would slowly join in. It was a different song every day. There was one song, though, that she would sing specifically for him. She sang it the morning after his father left them. She sang it the day he came out to her. She sang it the day she died, and Willie would never forget it.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sad stuffs</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>       It's a strangely quiet Sunday afternoon. Reggie and Kayla are out doing something, so the band can't really practice anything. Luke is laying with his head in Julie's lap as she scrolls through Tumblr. The other girls are sitting on the floor, sharing earbuds, as Flynn french braids Carrie's hair. Willie sits in a chair staring up at the ceiling with a half-asleep Alex curled beside him. Ray is with Carlos at his baseball game, and Tia is at work. There is absolutely nothing to do. Then, Julie sits up a little, intrigued by something on her phone screen.</p>
<p>      "Huh." That's all she says. Luke opens his eyes to look at her.</p>
<p>      "What?" He slowly sits up to look at her screen.</p>
<p>      "I found this random question and I'm trying to think of my answer," Julie responds, tapping his nose. Flynn turns around.</p>
<p>      "What's the question?" Now Carrie and Willie are listening, too.</p>
<p>      "'What song makes you nostalgic?'" The girls on the floor share a knowing look before bursting into song.</p>
<p>      "Girls just wanna have fu-un. O-oh! Girls just wanna have fu-un!" Julie joins in for the extra part.</p>
<p>      "That's all we really wa-a-a-a-a-a-ant! Some fu-u-u-u-u-u-un!" Alex groans as he sits up, now awake.</p>
<p>      "The heck was that?" The girls smile. Carrie is the one to answer him.</p>
<p>      "That used to be our go-to karaoke song when we were younger." Julie smiles softly, drifting off as if remembering.</p>
<p>      "Yeah." Then she turns back to her boyfriend. "What about you?" He thinks for a moment.</p>
<p>      "It's not a song, like, from my childhood, but it reminds me of it."</p>
<p>      "Shoot."</p>
<p>      "'Stressed Out' by twenty one pilots." Flynn chuckles and shakes her head.</p>
<p>      "Of course. How about you, Al?" Alex doesn't say anything for a moment.</p>
<p>      "Um... I don't know. I used to to sing and sign 'Those Magic Changes' for Rori all the time." Julie shrugs.</p>
<p>      "Aw. That's so sweet" She turns her gaze to Willie, who seems to be lost in thought. "How about you, Li-Li? His head snaps up and he glares at her playfully. Then he reaches across and takes her phone. She's confused until she hears music coming from it. She recognizes the song, but doesn't <em>know</em> what it is until the chorus comes.</p>
<p>      <em>So kiss me and smile for me.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>      Tell me that you'll wait for me</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>      Hold me like you'll never let me go.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>      Cause I'm leaving on a jet plane.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>      Don't know when I'll be back again.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>      Oh, babe, I hate to go.</em>
</p>
<p>"Leaving On A Jet Plane'. John Denver. 1966." He sighs and stares at the ceiling, just listening to the song. Julie looks at Alex for an explanation, but he just shrugs, equally confused. Sensing their confusion, Willie speaks again. "My mom used to sing this to me all the time. I don't even know why she loved it so much, but it was our song." He pauses, reminiscing. "She sang it the morning before she died. I had a bad feeling that day, so I went to see her instead of going to school, which I had been doing a lot. I think... I think she knew. That it would happen that day, because she sang it directly to me." This memory stirs more emotions than Willie thought it would. He can feel his eyes start to water, and he doesn't stop it. Alex wraps his arms around his boyfriend, and Willie does the same. After a minute of silence, someone speaks.</p>
<p>      "You and your mom were really close, huh," Flynn says, the tone of her voice very familiar to Julie because of the months she spent hearing it. Willie sniffs and nods.</p>
<p>      "Yeah. I mean, we had to be. It's not like it was possible to be close to my dad. Hell, I don't even know where he went." He laughs bitterly. "And, sure, she had to work a lot, but she spent nearly every spare moment with or around me. She was the most supportive person I knew."</p>
<p>      "She sounds awesome," Luke says. For such a casual comment, he sounds incredibly sincere. <em>Well, of course he does. He probably would've loved a mom like that. </em>Yeah, Julie. Use your brain.</p>
<p>      "I can see why my mom liked your family so much," she says. Luckily, Willie smiles.</p>
<p>      "Trust me. She had no idea how thankful we were to her." He leans back into Alex's arms, staring at the chairs hanging from the ceiling. Julie realizes that she's more connected to Willie than she thought before.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Okay, so... this song is special to me. When we were little, my dad would sing this to me and my brother sometimes when we went to sleep. I hadn't listened to it in so long. Then, I heard someone singing it on TikTok and I decided to actually listen to it again. Guys... I cried. Like actually cried. It was crazy. I am not an emotional person. I do not cry(unless it's Unsaid Emily), but I cried that day. Then, I imagined Willie's mom lying in a hospital bed singing it to him and... I died. So, I wrote this.<br/>:)<br/>I think I'm gonna rite Alex's backstory next.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Princess</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Absent minded nick-names are the best.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay, I know i said Alex's backstory would be next, and I'm like halfway done writing that, but i knew this wouldn't take long and I could NOT get it out of my freaking head and it was just too cute and- AAAAAAHHH!!!!!!</p>
<p>Forgive me. I got sucked into fangirl mode.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>      It was your average Saturday morning in the Molina-Patterson-Peters-Mercer-Thomas household. The only thing missing was the male Molina's. Carlos had to travel for a baseball tournament, and Ray decided to stay the night since it was 2 1/2 hours away. Victoria had to go to work, so it was just Julie and her ghost boys. Alex had decided that he was going to make breakfast for everyone. So, everyone sat around the kitchen table waiting for breakfast... and Willie.</p>
<p>      Willie had never been a morning person. He loved the fact that he could actually sleep now. Weekends for him were the days to sleep. Just sleep. Unless the band had a gig or he had something else planned. In that case, he would get up, but otherwise he would just stay home and cuddle with his boyfriend or something.</p>
<p>      Alex was just putting pancakes on plates when Willie poofed into the room. Julie, despite this being her life for the past few months, jumped. Without looking up from his business, Alex greeted him.</p>
<p>      "Morning, princess." Willie, who had been reaching for a chair, froze, his eyes widening. Julie, Luke, and Reggie stifled laughs.</p>
<p>      "What?" Alex glanced up at his boyfriend, confusion painting his face at his shocked expression.</p>
<p>      "What do you mean, 'what?'" Julie pinched the bridge of her nose, realizing that Alex didn't know that he probably just broke the boy behind her.</p>
<p>      "I mean... I- you- what did you just say?" Alex still looked confused and Willie started to think he imagined it, but then he locked eyes with Julie he knew that it had really happened.</p>
<p>      "I said... 'Morning.' Right?" Julie couldn't handle it anymore.</p>
<p>      "Yeah, but then you called him something." She paused to check for any sign of realization from her drummer... nothing. "Good lord. <em>You called him 'princess!!'"</em> Alex went pale, Willie turned a darker shade of pink, and the other three couldn't hold their laughter anymore.</p>
<p>      "Oh my- I- um- I didn't- Are you- Is that- um-" Alex panicked. Willie leaned over the counter and took his hands.</p>
<p>      "Hey. It's okay, hotdog. I kinda like it." That made him shut up, and with that, Willie went back to his seat beside Julie.</p>
<p>      "Are you aware that you probably just broke him," she whispers. He smirks.</p>
<p>      "Payback."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I honestly don't even know where this came from, but I really like it. It's really short, but if you can picture the whole scene, it's perfect.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Playlists</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Not an actual one-shot.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, I literally just made a bunch of playlists for Julie and the Phantoms, so here they are.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/14OeHTIeV7gG6gnOU0g5Sw?si=b20a04ba06de43f5">Willex Playlist</a>
</p><p>
  <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0gMT44oQLive92jENKddp3?si=e96f7acd536b49ab">Willie Thomas</a>
</p><p>
  <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3yYJbMtXiWgHlXyZGkmcnx?si=4451801fd8a64570">Alex Mercer</a>
</p><p>
  <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5FVCQ3WXD5opnShHHRPghS?si=031d850bd3994dd2">Julie Molina</a>
</p><p>
  <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/40U2FdRjb9YypwRTydYwYL?si=9b55c026a91048f6">Reggie Peters</a>
</p><p>
  <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0BBb0jGjcvGCG1JBwn5MhF?si=d63ccdc271c34a0a">Luke Patterson</a>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I made these a while ago and i have decided to share them. I will probably continue to add to them, but this is what I have right now. The pictures for each playlist are "aesthetic boards" for each character, except for the willex playlist. That is fanart by someone that is not me.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Before Death: Alex Mercer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning: Homophobia</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Alex Archibald Mercer</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>July 19, 1978- July 7,1995</em>
</p>
<p>~~~</p>
<p>      Alex Mercer had a pretty good childhood. He was born into a decently wealthy family. His mother, Alison Mercer, was an English professor and his father, Jonathan Mercer, was a lawyer. Alex was the perfect child. He was smart. He rarely ever got in trouble. He wasn't very brave, or athletic, but he was only a kid. When he was 5 years old, he became a big brother. His little sister, Aurora(Rori), was perfect. Or, she was for 4 years. It all happened so suddenly.</p>
<p>      They were playing outside in the rain. It was beautiful to them. Their mother kept warning them about the illnesses they were going to catch. They completely ignored her, splashing around in the puddles in their huge backyard. 9-year-old Alex could hear thunder in the distance, and it got louder over the next few minutes. He knew that where there was thunder, there was lightning. However, when he suggested that they go inside, little Rori convinced him to stay by starting a mud-ball fight. The thunder just got closer, and Alex occasionally glanced up to see strips of light shooting through the sky. Of the many things he was scared of, storms were not one of them. What terrified him was watching as his little sister leaned against a pine tree at the same time a bolt of electricity hit the top of it. Watching as she shrieked and fell to the ground.</p>
<p>      Alex yelled for his parents as loud as he could as he ran over to her. They rushed her to the hospital immediately. By some miracle, she survived. In fact, she came out nearly unscathed. She lost the ability to hear. Alison and Jon were devastated. <em>Our precious daughter has a defect! What are we going to to? </em>Alex, on the other hand, treated her the same. Rori was his baby sister. He would do anything for her. He took time out of his schedule to learn sign language so he could talk to her. His parents took advantage of this, saying, "Well, you can just be our little translator, can't you." Because they were apparently too busy to learn how to speak to their own child. This situation continued until the Incident.</p>
<p>      In second grade, Alex met Reggie Peters. The boy was a walking ball of energy. No, not walking. Bouncing. He never stopped moving. He was always happy. Well, not always, but that's a story for another day. They remained friends for the rest of their lives. In 5th grade, they added two friends to their little clique; Luke Patterson and Bobby Wilson. The four boys were constantly getting into trouble. It wasn't always BIG trouble, but it was always something Alex had tried to prevent the others from doing. His parents didn't approve of these boys. They said they were bad influences. Especially the music they listened to. Rock! Alex loved it, but he would never say that in front of them. They would say it's the devil's music and ban him from hanging out with his friends. Then, in 7th grade, Luke came up with the brilliant idea to start a band, and not just any band... a ROCK band! Alex tried to keep it a secret from his parents, but they found out soon enough. However, when he pointed out the fact that he was the drummer, his father made the exact point Alex had hoped. "At least it's not something stupid, like singer." Alex knew that meant, "At least drumming is 'manly.'"</p>
<p>      That brings up another thing about Alex. He is a raging homosexual. He found out in 4th grade. He was at recess with Reggie, sitting in the grass while the other boy did cartwheels around him. Suddenly, a soccer ball flew straight into his face. As he held one hand over his eye, another boy came running up to him. His name was Richard. He was sweaty, with his dark hair hanging in front of his grey eyes, inches away, and he was... talking to Alex?</p>
<p>      "Hey, man. Are you okay?" Alex shook out of his daze.</p>
<p>      "Y-yeah." What was this feeling? "Yeah. I'm fine."</p>
<p>      "Cool." And with that, Richard picked up his ball and ran back to his friends. Reggie plopped down next to his friend, presumably to check on him, but instead he just smirked.</p>
<p>      "Dude, are you blushing?"</p>
<p>      "What?! No! I just- he- the ball- it- my- ugh. Nevermind." Reggie just giggle and went back to rolling down the hill. Alex didn't get much sleep that night. He thought about the fact that he had never had a crush on a girl. He had found plenty of girls pretty, but none of them were necessarily attractive. Reggie, on the other hand, seemed to have a different love interest every two weeks. Throughout middle school, Alex felt extra anxious in the boys' locker room for PE. In eighth grade, Bobby decided to try football. Alex and the boys would come to all of his games, and Alex would constantly find himself staring at #24 whenever he lifted the hem of his jersey to wipe his forehead. Eighth grade was also the year Alex learned the term for his "condition."</p>
<p>"Homosexual."</p>
<p>      Strangely, enough, he learned the word during church. His pastor was talking about sinful beings, and homosexuals were pretty high on the list. The worst part was that now he knew his parents would never accept him. How did he know this? Well, to put it simply, his parents' views and the pastor's views were always the same. The pastor doesn't like rock? Neither do his parents. The pastor is kinda racist? So are his parents. The pastor is homophobic? Well... you get the point. Alex contemplated telling them plenty of times. Maybe they would accept him because he was their son... or maybe not. <em>Maybe</em> they would immediately forget all of the good things about him and they would hate him forever and possibly disown him and he would be a homeless teenager with no way to live on his own. <em>Maybe</em> then, he would die from starvation and be forgotten by the world. <em>Maybe</em>... but who knows? Right? He didn't really want to risk it.</p>
<p>      He did, however, tell the guys. It was late November in 9th grade, and they were sitting in the garage/studio space that they borrowed from a small family for band practice. The family never interfered with the boys hangouts or practices. In fact, none of them had ever met any member of the family. Arrangement were usually done over the phone. All they knew was that the man of the house's name was Jose. Anyway, the boys were sitting around the room talking about the Christmas party that Rebecca Johnson was throwing for whoever wanted to come.</p>
<p>      "I was thinking of asking Nicole," Bobby said.</p>
<p>      "Nah, man. You should ask Brittany. She's totally in love with you," Luke responded.</p>
<p>      "Jones? No way. She's so annoying."</p>
<p>      "Do you think Madison Williams would go with me," Reggie asked, hanging upside down from the loft.</p>
<p>      "I think anyone would go with <em>you,</em> man. Everybody loves you." Luke is a really good hype man... when he wants to be. "What about me? Who should I ask?"</p>
<p>      "Kimberly Anderson!"</p>
<p>      "Ha! You mean the girl from science who sits in the back and never talks to anyone?! No way." Everyone laughs slightly at that. "How 'bout you, Alex?" Alex looks up from his book.</p>
<p>      "Hm?"</p>
<p>      "Who are you gonna ask to the party?" Now, his friends' attention was all on him.</p>
<p>      "Um... I mean... probably nobody."</p>
<p>      "What do mean 'nobody?' You've gotta have your eye on someone, man. This is highschool," Luke says, smirking. Alex sighs, closing his book.</p>
<p>      "Well... there might be someone, but I don't know if I want to tell you guys." Reggie clambers down from the loft and sits on the floor in front of Alex.</p>
<p>      "Why? Is it someone we don't like?"</p>
<p>      "No... but... I don't know." Reggie leans forward.</p>
<p>      "Is it a guy," he whispers loudly. Alex is sure the other guys heard it and he can feel his face heating up. <em>How did he know? Do they all know? What is going on?!</em> "Oh my god! It is! Who is it?"</p>
<p>      "I-wh-how-you-bu-"</p>
<p>      "You think I forgot that day on the playground? Or that I don't see it very time you stare at Jason on the football field during Bobby's games? I mean, you're pretty obvious to anyone who bothers to pay attention." Now, Alex is glancing frantically at his other friends, waiting for them to hate him. Luke looks confused and Bobby... Bobby doesn't show emotion.</p>
<p>      "I-yeah. Okay, um... is that... bad?" Luke scoots closer.</p>
<p>      "What? The fact that you like guys," he says. Alex nods, slightly curling in on himself. "Nah, man. It's cool. With me, at least." He looks around at the guys, silently looking for their answers.</p>
<p>      "I don't care. Bobby?"</p>
<p>      "Me neither. It's totally fine." Alex relaxes and smiles at his friends. At least that's over.</p>
<p>      Coming out to his best friends was stressful, but amazing when it was finally over. Now, he could talk to them openly about boys, even though they never <em>really</em> understood what he was saying. He asked them multiple times about whether or not he should tell his parents, and they pretty much always said that he should do it when he wants to. The problem was, he wasn't sure when that would ever be. He always wanted to tell them, but he was also scared. One fall day, he finally decided that he was going to tell them. He wasn't sure how, but he was going to do it. Well... it happened. It didn't go exactly how he would've liked, but it happened.</p>
<p>      The topic the dinner table on this fine October day was the school's Halloween party. Rori, now 11, ate her spaghetti silently, watching her brother for no reason. Well, there was a reason. He looked nervous. He was always nervous, but today it was more noticable. To her, at least. She glanced at her parents and saw theirs mouths moving. What were they talking about that was making Alex so tense?</p>
<p>      "Come on, Al, there's gotta be someone you've got your eye on. Tell us. Who is she," their dad said. Alex tried to breathe.</p>
<p>      "Nobody, dad. I told you. There isn't somebody," he responded through gritted teeth. His annoyance clearly wasn't that obvious because his parents didn't reprimand him.</p>
<p>      "Come on, sweetie. There has to be some nice girl in your class. What about that girl that goes to our church, Jennifer," his mom suggested. Alex could barely hold it in any more.</p>
<p>      "Mom, I don't even know if I'll go to the party." Alison scoffed.</p>
<p>      "Nonsense. It'll be fun. You and her can do a little couple's costume thing. Like-"</p>
<p>      "I'm gay."</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>     The silence was deafening. Both Mercer parents froze. Alison stared at her plate, eyes wide. Jonathan lifted his gaze to glare at his son.</p>
<p>     "What," he spat. Alex had to beg himself not to spiral from that one word. Instead, he took a deep breathe, but avoided his father's icy blue eyes, eerily similar to his own.</p>
<p>     "I'm. Gay." He glanced up and instantly regretted it because all he saw was his father's face, looking angrier than he'd ever seen him. He snapped his fingers in front of Aurora's face. She looked up, confused. Her father pointed angrily towards the stairs, not looking away from Alex. She looked back at her brother to see fear, but also anger in his eyes. Emotions were something she'd learned to read well.</p>
<p>    <em>Go to your room, Rori,</em> he signed, hands shaking slightly. She glanced back at her father, then stood cautiously and went to her room. As soon as she was gone, Alex finally locked eyes with his father.<strong>(Prepare yourselves, peeps.)</strong></p>
<p>     "Do you even know what you're saying, boy?" Deep breathe.</p>
<p>     "Yeah, dad. I do."</p>
<p>     "Then you should know that it's not true. You are God's child, and you will never be in love with no man." Alex's family was from Ohio, and when his father got mad, the little bit of redneck in him came out. It was terrifying. Alex couldn't let himself fall. He had to do this. He had to get this through his parents heads or they would never get anywhere.</p>
<p>     "That's not true. I have never, ever had a crush on a girl, but I've liked plenty of guys. There's nothing wrong with that, either. It's just the way I am. God made me this way. If he didn't want this it wouldn't have happened! Can't you see that?!" Now, both male Mercer's were out of their seat.</p>
<p>     "Wrong! If you really believe that you're one of those things, you've been poisoned by Satan! You will not go farther down this hole, do you hear me? You will stay away from all of this... fairy shit until you understand that you are a normal human being!"</p>
<p>     "There is nothing abnormal about being gay! Love shouldn't be defined by which gender I prefer it should be about whether or not they're a good person. I know that I would never be happy if I was forced to marry some girl just for the sake of your sanity! I would honestly rather die! So, there! I'm gay. Deal with it!" With that, he stormed out and ran to his room, not even noticing his sister standing in her door-frame. Honestly, he wasn't thinking of anything right now except for the fact that he couldn't stay here. Not if his parents were going to be like this. He knew that they would never change, no matter how hard he tried. He slammed and locked his door, knowing that his parents were following him. He grabbed a suitcase and his backpack out of his closet and went to work. He shoved everything he could possibly in the bags. Multiple changes of clothes and shoes. 3 spare pairs of drumsticks. All of the snacks that he had hidden in his room. Deodorant. Car keys. His medication(anxiety, allergies, etc). A few other things that he deemed important. He heard his father outside the door.</p>
<p>     "Open this door, now!" Then, his mother's voice.</p>
<p>     "Alex, honey, we just want to talk. We can help you, or find you help. Please." He suddenly felt a little guilty. What he really about to abandon his family? His parents? Aurora? Shit. Rori! He hadn't thought about her. He can't just leave her with these people. It was too late to take her with him. He quickly decided that he would come back for her, but he couldn't do that now. He would sneak her out in the next year or two... somehow. When he was finally packed, he threw some shoes on, grabbed his things, marched to the door, and paused. He knew his parents were waiting for him. He would have to run. He wanted to say goodbye to his little sister. She was smart. Maybe she knew what he was doing and would wait for him downstairs. Probably. She's amazing like that.</p>
<p>     With this positive thought, Alex unlocked his door, opened it, then bolted down the hallway before his parents could stop him. He ran down the stairs to be greeted by Rori. <em>Called it.</em> She had tears in her eyes, and Alex just then realized that he did, too. He scooped her up in his one free arm, pressed a kiss to the top of her head, then left, tears now falling freely. He sped across the driveway and shoved everything into the car his parents had bought him for his 16th birthday a few months ago. He pulled out and drove away as quickly as he could, not bothering to look back. He drove for about 10 minutes before pulling into a random parking lot. Only then did all of the thoughts come crashing down.</p>
<p>     <em>Now what? Where am I gonna go? How am I gonna eat? Am I going to be one of those people who live in their cars? <strong>That's disgusting.</strong> What about Rori? How am I going to get her back? What if she gets in trouble for not trying to stop me? She's going to be so lonely. <strong>She has her cat.</strong> Brain, a cat is not going to keep a deaf little girl company for the rest of her life. <strong>Whatever.</strong></em><em> Just leave me alone, okay? <strong>Okay...</strong></em></p>
<p>     The whole thing sucked. He couldn't go to Luke or Reggie's house. Either of their parents would send/take him back "home." Bobby was an option... wait, no. The Wilson's really don't like guests. They have a decently big house, but they won't let anyone come over. Scratch that, then. Where was he supposed to go? Alex sat in his car in silence before he got any idea. The garage. He could stay in the garage. Park a few blocks away, then take his stuff, hide it in the loft, and just avoid the family that lives there. It couldn't be that hard. So, that's what he did. A few weeks in, Luke joined him. He had run away, too, but for slightly different reasons. So, they shared the garage, stashing their things in the loft, barely escaping when they heard someone coming out of the house towards the garage, sleeping on the pull-out couch.</p>
<p>     After a few weeks of "living together" Alex realized that he might have feelings for his friend. Luke apparently realized the same thing, but he actually did something about it. So, they "dated" for a month, but quickly realized the romantic feelings had been false. They were brothers, not lovers. The loved each other... platonically. Don't get it wrong, Alex  thought Luke was pretty hot, but that didn't mean he wanted to be romantically involved. Luke was too... intense for Alex. He loved the energy, but he needed someone that can also be calm and collected on a normal basis, but also fun and exciting at times. None of his friends were necessarily like that, so he didn't think he would ever find that in his lifetime. Honestly, he was totally fine with that.</p>
<p>     Reggie stayed a few nights, too, but he never officially "moved in." The band began focusing even more on their music and growing through it. Alex was satisfied with this. They played wherever they could. They played in front of clubs, in back of clubs, they even played book clubs. They obviously didn't get many gigs from that, but the ladies were always nice and the snacks were pretty good. They eventually started getting actual gigs, then they hit they're big thing. They finally booked a gig at The Orpheum in Hollywood. This was going to be they're biggest show yet. Playing there almost guaranteed you a bright future in music. Waiting for that summer day in July was like torture. When they finally got there, it was almost too awesome to believe. Their soundcheck was incredible. They even got compliments from the employees. Then, all three of Alex's friend started flirting with her. Bobby even told her he was vegetarian so he could stay and talk instead of getting street dogs.</p>
<p>     Well, that decision ended up working in his favor because those street dogs weren't the best. They didn't taste bad, but they tasted different. However, as Reggie "wisely" said, "Chill, man. Street dogs haven't killed us yet."</p>
<p>     Keyword: yet. So, as you probably know, the three of them died, went to this dark room where Alex cried for 25 years, were accidentally summoned by one Julie Molina in 2020, found out they could be seen when they perform with her, formed a new band, met the bad guy, almost died again, finally performed at the Orpheum(with Julie), and "survived" Caleb's curse. Yay!</p>
<p>     In the middle of this whole mess, Alex met Willie. Willie was... amazing. He was cool and energetic(and beautiful!), but at the same time, he could be calm and sweet. He was usually so confident, but had bouts of self-doubt. He knew how Alex's brain worked before they even got to know each other. He understands a lot of Alex's anxieties and helps him through when it gets really bad. Willie balances Alex out. Having anxiety and a reckless boyfriend makes for some fun adventures. Oh, right. They're together, and they will be forever. They ground each other. They love each other. Very, very much.</p>
<hr/>
<p>     Laying in the grass of his favorite park, left hand intertwined with Willie's right, their toes touching, and staring up at the leaves, he thinks about all of the crazy stuff that happened in his life. He wonders what happened to Rori and his parents. He knew what happened to Bobby. And Mr. and Mrs. Patterson. Reggie's house. Even that girl who Bobby had stayed behind to flirt with. Rose. That was Julie's mom. She's gone, too. He's thought about going to see his old house, but he doesn't think he could handle it. He doesn't even know if it's still there. If his parents are still there. Rori probably went off and got married to some guy. Heck, she probably has kids now. He wonders if his parents ever told her what had happened that night. He doesn't know how or why they would. Rori was the only thing he had really cared about in life that he didn't have now. Thinking about it made him nervous about what could've happened to her without him there.</p>
<p>     His thoughts must be evident on his face because he feels someone squeeze his hand. He turns to see Willie smiling at him, and any tension fades immediately. Alex smiles back softly as Willie leans over to plant a kiss on his boyfriends forehead. Then, without a word, he lays on Alex's chest, sighing contentedly. Alex runs a hand through Willie's hair, satisfied with how his after life had turned out. He still thought about Rori, but with this long-haired skater boy laying in his arms, he couldn't stress that much. Sure, he's wired a little tight, but he can handle that. His <strong>life</strong> is history.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Kapow! Just so you know, this is just what I think. Everything I write is(unless it's canon).<br/>did i make an abnormallyadam reference with alex's name? maybe(if any of u know who that is... &lt;3&lt;3&lt;3)<br/>anyway...<br/>i kind of want to write this whole thing and the aftermath from rori's pov. I sorta want to write about her... well... his life(trans rori). i used female pronouns in this because he didn't realize it until after alex died, so yeah.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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